from the chairperson’s desk...books brought by nba and a film where celebrities support the...

1 Biodiversity Matters Newsletter

FROM THE CHAIRPERSON’S DESK

Update on Activities 2

Projects Underway 7

Glimpses from SBB 12

Contents

Vol: 2, Issue - 03July, 2018

With great pleasure, we are coming up with the third issue of Vol II of E- Newsletter ‘Biodiversity Matters’ with the activities of the National Biodiversity Authority from April to June 2018. During this period, as a part of generating awareness among the varied stakeholders on implementation of Biological Diversity Act, NBA has taken a special initiative to reach scientific fraternity through hosting advertisement in the leading science journal the ‘Current Science’ for one year in its twelve issues. The International Day for Biological Diversity 2018 has been celebrated in a grand manner at Hyderabad, in association with Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Telengana State Biodiversity Board. Twenty two heroes, who made exemplary efforts to conserve biodiversity of our country, have been awarded India Biodiversity Award in this event. Books brought by NBA and a film where celebrities support the protection of biodiversity was released on this occasion. We also celebrated the World Environment Day emphasising this year’s theme ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’ and took part in the global celebration of the day, being a part of host country. Under CEBPOL, we have conducted three Regional Policy Dialogues on “Mainstreaming Biodiversity into Forestry and Forest Management” at Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Guwahati, to bring out a policy document. Capacity building for a wide range of stakeholders was also continued through various other projects hosted in NBA.

We look forward to your extended cooperation, constructive feedback and collective activeness on Biodiversity Conservation.

B. Meenakumari, Chairperson

National Biodiversity Authority in association with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Govt of India and with the cooperation of the Telangana State Biodiversity Board organised the event for celebration of International Day for Biodiversity on 22nd May 2018. The event was held at Prof. Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU), Hyderabad. Shri. Arun Kumar Mehta, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change delivered the welcome remarks. Dr. Meenakumari, Chairperson NBA, emphasised the importance of creating awareness and communication amongst people at all levels of society, apart from highlighting the achievements of India. Marina Walter, UNDP, India Country Director and Shri S. K. Pattanayak, Secretary Department of Agricultural Cooperation and Farmers welfare were also given their remarks in the event. Shri. E.S.L. Narasimhan, Hon’ble Governor of Andhra Pradesh & Telangana and Shri Jogu Ramanna, Minister of Environment, Forests, Science & Technology, Government of Telangana were the Guest of Honour for the same. More than thousand individuals including academia, practitioners, policy makers, students, line department officials and BMC members attended it.

Celebration of International Day for Biological Diversity

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46th Authority Meeting The forty sixth meeting of Authority (Governing Body) was held on 24th July 2018 in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Dr. B. Meenakumari, Chairperson, NBA. Some of the important items discussed and deliberated in the meeting include like Proceedings of the 48th meeting of Expert Committee on ABS held on 14th & 15th May 2018, Proceedings of the 49th meeting of Expert Committee on ABS held on 10th & 11th July, 2018 and Minutes of the Meeting to discuss modalities about sharing of the benefit-sharing amount with the BMC/ beneficiaries concerned held on 13th June 2018 at NBA, Chennai.

48th Meeting of EC on ABSThe 48th meeting of the Expert Committee on Access and Benefit Sharing (EC on ABS) was held on 14th & 15th May 2018 at NBA, Chennai. A total of 193 applications and two generic issues were placed before the EC for examination. It was observed that complementing the NBA for hastening the process of applications, the Chairman and members appreciated the efforts put forth by the Secretariat in the speedy disposal of the applications thereby bringing down the backloglargely. Besides, the EC provided techno-legal inputs on various generic issues such as issues of biological resources used for testing an invention in the process patent, issue of securing permission/concurrence of the competent authority for accessing and collecting biological resource from forest or restricted or protected area and revised

the existing guidelines for upfront payment developed in December 2014.

49th Meeting of EC on ABSThe 49th meeting of the Expert Committee on Access and Benefit Sharing (EC on ABS) was held on 10th & 11th July, 2018 at the National Biodiversity Authority, Chennai. A total of 123 applications and one generic issue were placed before the EC for examination. The representatives of Four (4) applicants appeared before the EC and pleaded/ clarified their position on their outstanding applications. Besides, the EC provided techno-legal inputs on various generic issues includes the Biological Diversity Act viz- a- viz patents for technology development process/products with the use of biological resources. The NBA has received 254 applications which are complete in all respects and taken up for processing since April to June 2018. During this period; NBA has sent draft agreements to 76 applicants for execution. NBA has granted approval in the form of agreements to 29 applicants.

Discussion Meeting on Modalities for Sharing the BenefitsNBA convened a small group meet with selected State Biodiversity Boards on 13th June 2018 at Chennai to discuss the modalities on sharing of the benefit- sharing accrued including upfront payment with the BMCs and/or beneficiaries concerned in order to meet the objectives of the BD Act. Participants discussed various issues relating to utilizing the BS amount on the light of the provisions of BD Act/ Rules and Regulations and developed the modalities for sharing the benefits with the concerned stakeholders.

Guidelines for Eligibility Conditions/Parameters for Identification of Repositories Under the BD Act The Authority in its 42nd Meeting held on 21st August 2017 vide agenda item no. 42.07 has decided to form a small group for developing a guideline for eligibility conditions/ parameters for identification of repositories. Accordingly, NBA has formed a Core Expert Group under the chairmanship of Dr. Yogesh Souche, Member, NBA to develop the eligibility conditions/parameters for identi-fication of repositories under section 39 of the BD Act. Subsequently, a meeting of Expert Group was held in this regard on 5th May 2018 at NBA Chennai. The members had

Update on Activities

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a discussion on the elements proposed by the Chair, in view of the BD Act, particularly to consider different institutions as repositories, multiple repositories for certain group of biological resources, procedures for access to biological resources from repositories, etc. The Core Expert Group had developed the guidelines and recommended the same to the authority for consideration.

Discussion Meeting on the Modalities for Export of Biological Resources Including Crude HerbsThe Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) proposed to have a meeting among representatives of NBA, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) and CBEC for a clear understanding of the issue of exporting of crude herbs in compliance with Biological Diversity Act, 2002. A meeting was convened to discuss the modalities for export of biological resources including crude herbs in compliance with BD Act on 19th April 2018 at NBA, Chennai. The participants included representatives from the CBEC, DGFT, WCCB and National Biodiversity Authority (NBA). The participants discussed various issues relating to enforcement of the provisions of the BD Act at the Ports in the light of the provisions of BD Act/ EXIM policy / Wildlife Protection Act/ Customs Act, etc. and agreed commonly to certain points for erective enforcement of the BD Act.

Internationally Recognized Certificate of Compliance (IRCC)Under the Article 17 of the Nagoya Protocol on access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization, Parties are required to issue a permit or its equivalent at the time of access as evidence that access to genetic resources was based on prior informed consent and that mutually agreed terms were established. Since India is being a party to the Nagoya Protocol, NBA has uploaded 123 approvals granted in the ABS CH platform and generated an Internationally Recognized Certificate of Compliance.

EXIM Committee for Export and Import of seeds and Planting materialsThe Department of Agricultural Cooperation & Farmers Welfare, GoI constituted the EXIM Committee for Export and Import of seeds and plant materials, which examines the proposal for export & import of seeds and grant approval to the various stakeholders in the country. NBA informed the DACFW about the requirements of the BD Act on various forums that DAC may advise the exporter/importer of biological to approach the NBA in the first

instance to obtain the approval if their activity is covered under sections 3, 4, 6 and 20 of the BD Act. In order to establish effective compliance of the BD Act, the NBA requested DACFW & Chairman of EXIM Commi- ttee to ensure that exporters/importers of biological resources comply with the provisions of the BD Act if their proposed activity falls under the sections 3, 4, 6 and 20 of the BD Act.

Awareness Generation on the Implementation of the BD Act NBA is actively undertaking several initiatives for creating awareness amongst various stakeholders about the provisions of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, Biological Diversity Rules, 2004 and Guidelines on Access to Biological Resources and Associated Knowledge and Benefits Sharing Regulations, 2014, through various ways and means, including advertisement in newspapers, electronic media such as radio programs / media workshops and organizing meetings with different stakeholders.

• Current Science: As part of its initiatives on awareness creation on the need for complying with the provisions of the Biological Diversity Act by the users, NBA has started issuing advertisement in the leading science journal, the Current Science for 12 advertisements in the successive monthly issues, as it has wide viewers among scientific fraternity. On this score, the first issue was published on 10th May 2018 about the BD Act and celebration of International Day for Biological Diversity, 2018 and 10th June 2018 is on “ABS e-filing” and 10th July 2018 is on “Access to biological resources”. It was informed that according to Google analytics, there are about 15,600 page views of Current Science issues from 10th May to 25th June 2018.

• Journal of Threatened Taxa: Zoo Outreach organization, Coimbatore with the support of NBA –GIZ is publishing the Journal of Threatened Taxa and seven issues were published in 2018, in which write up on NBA in each of the monthly issues were published. Such advertisements will also be published inupcoming six (6) issues.

• Facebook: NBA also posted the same advertisements in the NBA Official Facebook page for creating awareness amongst the stakeholders and the public at large. This has reached around 32,700 viewers by now. Further, the request made to organizations such as DBT, ZSI, ICAR, CSIR, FICCI, CII, etc to advertise the same in their facebook page for wide publicity. Accordingly, as per facebook analysis, the viewers are from Brazil, China, Srilanka, Malaysia, Thailand have reacted to the post and welcomed e-advertisement approach to create awareness among the stakeholders.


Category Winners Special mention

Conservation of Wild Species - Institution

Singchung Bugun Village Community Reserve Management Committee, West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh

Umru BMC, Ri-Bhoi District, Meghalaya

Lemsachenlok Organization, Longleng, Nagaland

TREE foundation, Chennai, Tamilnadu

Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd, Mumbai, Maharashtra

Coromandel International Limited, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh

Kibber Village Community, Spiti, District Lahaul & Spiti, Himachal Pradesh

Conservation of Domesticated Species

Institution: Kachchh Unt Uchherak Maldhari Sangthan (KUMMS), Bhuj-Kutch, Gujarat

Sahaja Samrudha, Bengaluru, Karnataka

Individual: Mr. Kalden Singhi Bhutia, North Sikkim, Sikkim Mr. Shaji N M, Wayanad, Kerala

Sustainable Use of Biological Resources -

Institution: Sangham Women Farmers Group, Medak, Telangana

GoI-UNDP-GEF Sindhudurg Project, Mumbai, Maharashtra

Individual: Ms. Parvathi Nagarajan, Villupuram, Tamilnadu

Tizu Valley Biodiversity Conservation and Livelihood Network, Zunheboto, Nagaland

Replicable mechanisms for Access and Benefit Sharing

Raipassa BMC, Dhalai, Tripura

Best Biodiversity Management Committee

Pithorabad BMC, Satna, Madhya Pradesh Coringa BMC, East Godavari, Andhra Pradesh

Eraviperoor BMC, Pathanamthitta, Kerala Modi (Jheri) BMC, Asifabad, Telangana

Meenangadi BMC, Wayanad, Kerala

Sikaribari BMC, Dhalai, Tripura


The India Biodiversity Awards was instituted by the Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) together with National Biodiversity

Authority and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as the knowledge partner. The call for India Biodiversity Award 2018 was made on 22nd May 2017, during the celebration of the International Day for Biological Diversity at Goa. The India Biodiversity Award 2018 is the fourth round of awards and it is being rewarded once in every two years. The idea behind IBA is to recognize and highlight the success stories of conservationists of India.

This year, 9 winners and 13 Special Mention were selected

for India Biodiversity Award 2018. They were rewarded during the celebration of the International Day for Biological Diversity 2018 (IDB 2018) held at the Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Hyderabad, on 22nd May 2018. The 9 winners selected by the Award Selection Committee were awarded a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh, a memento and a certificate each and the 13 special mention awardees were given a certificate each. The Honourable Governor of Telangana Shri E. S. L. Narasimhan and the Honourable Minster of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Shri Jogu Ramanna presented the awards.

India Biodiversity Awards - 2018

List of Winners and Special Mention for the India Biodiversity Award 2018


Release of PublicationA Policy Brief on Mainstreaming Biodiversity into Agriculture Sector, prepared by CEBPOL, NBA was released on the occasion. Several outreach material were also released on the occasion from NBA, viz., Brochure on ‘Access and Benefit Sharing under the Biological Diversity Act’ prepared by CEBPOL and ‘Making ABS Happen in India – A Video Documentary’ prepared by UNEP-GEF-MoEFCC ABS Project,

and one from the Telangana State Biodiversity Board, a video documentary on Biodiversity Conservation. And two from the MoEFCC, viz., ‘Biosafety Resource Kit’ and ‘Brochure on Biosafety Capacity Building Workshops’. Three books from UNDP viz., i) India Naturally, ii) Implementation of Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing, iii) Achievements of Aichi targets 11 & 16 and Biodiversity Finance Initiative - Process and Early Findings and one by the Telangana State Biodiversity Board - ‘Threatened taxa of Telangana State’ were also released.

Biodiversity Exhibition during IDB 2018

During the event UNEP–GEF and CEBPOL Team of NBA coordinated the educational exhibition. More than 26 different agencies participated including universities, research institutes, biodiversity management committees, development agencies and non-profit agencies.

Fourth Refresher Course for Law Teachers organized by Inter University Centre for IPR Studies, Government of Kerala at Kochi

Narendran. T, Technical Officer (IPR), NBA was the resource person for the Fourth Refresher Course for Law Teachers organized by Inter University Centre for IPR Studies, Government of Kerala at Kochi from June 22nd to 29th, 2018 on the theme “Developmental Perspectives of IPR Laws - Collective Forms of IP”. He gave two lectures on the topics “Indian perspective on CBD Nagoya” and “Limits of CBD/Nagoya Approaches towards collective property”.

World Environment Day 2018 celebration

Global WED Celebration with MoEFCC, New DelhiIndia was the global host for the World Environment Day 2018 celebration focusing on the theme ‘Beat Plastic Pollution – Challenges Ahead’. Main programmes and exhibitions/ green haat, stall etc were orgained in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. NBA in association with MoEFCC took part in the thematic exhibitions. Posters on Ghost Fishing and Marine Debris which is linked to environmental conservation and beating plastic pollution was depicted during the celebration. The video on India Biodiversity Award along with some national and international awareness video documentaries became point of attraction for the visitors in the exhibition. The stall was visited by Honorable Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi and Honorable Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan among many other national and international dignitaries, scientists, academia, industry personnel and students.

Dr. Sujata Arora, Advisor along with other officials from MoEFCC, Mr. T. Rabi Kumar, Secretary, NBA and Dr. Rupam Mandal, Program Manager, CEBPOL facilitated the exhibition.


Celebration with The Tamilnadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, ChennaiNBA along with The Tamilnadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University (TNDALU) has celebrated the World Environment Day at TNDALU’s Taramani Campus on 5th June 2018. The round table consultation Program was organized on ‘’Beat Plastic Pollution – Challenges Ahead”. Dr. Haritha Deva, Head of the Department of Environmental Law welcomed the audience with the theme note of World Environment Day 2018. Dr. B. Meenakumari, Chairperson, NBA inaugurated the programme and encouraged the Law students to plan for the TNDALU campus as a Plastic free campus. The Campaign began with taking an oath to ‘stop using one plastic item in day to day life’. And this Campaign will be continued till WED 2019.

Dr. P. Nammalvar, Former Principal Scientist of CMFRI, Dr. Narasimhaswani, Scientist of CLRI; Mrs. Shanthi Muthuswamy Pillai, Wild Life Inspector, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau; Dr. Revathy, Rtd Principal, Ethiraj College; Dr. Ganapahti Subramanium, Professor, Anna University; Dr. R. Ramanibai of Madras University were the delegates of the programme. The issues viz., Impact of plastic debris on marine biodiversity, Impact of Plastic on wild life, Effective waste management, Plastics and environmental degradation and Plastic Pollution - Legal perspective were discussed in the Consultation. The programme was ended with a plenary session by Hon’ble Justice (Rtd) Jothimani. He expressed his views that since there is lack of clarification in law, the issues arise in the judiciary when the laws are clear the authority would fulfill their duty, he also concluded that creating awareness in young and fresh mind would reduce the cause of plastic pollution.


Strengthening the Implementation of the Biological Diversity Act and Rules with Focus on its Access and Benefit Sharing Provisions

PROJECTS UNDERWAY

UNEP – GEF – MoEFCC ABS Project

to achieve biodiversity conservation through implementing Access and Benefit Sharing Agreements in India. This project is currently being implemented in the ten provincial states of India namely Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura and West Bengal

“Public participation in Generating Biodiversity Information: Opportunities and Challenges”

The Project Manager, UNEP-GEF-MoEFCC ABS Project Mr. Ishwar C. Poojar participated and shared information on the provisions of the BD Act & Rules relevant to research institutes/communities in the program titled “Public participation in Generating Biodiversity Information: Opportunities and Challenges” held between 20th and 21st June, 2018 at Dehradun hosted by the Wildlife Institute of India & Foundation for Ecological Security, Gujarat. During the program, participants discussed in depth on the various platforms of information data bases relevant to biodiversity present within and outside India.

The focus group meets with various stakeholders such as Ayurvedic drug manufactures, bio-resources based industries, modern drugs, cosmetics, scientific and technical institutes etc is in progress in project states.

The UNEP – GEF – MoEFCC project on ABS is to increase the institutional, individual and systemic capacities of stakeholders to effectively implement the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and the Rules 2004



Policy dialogue on ‘’Mainstreaming Biodiversity Concerns in Forestry and Forest Management’’

Three Regional Policy Dialogues on Mainstreaming Biodiversity into the Forestry & Forest Management were conducted on 28th April, 28th May and 28th June, 2018 respectively at Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Guwahati. A number of senior foresters, academia, practitioners and State Biodiversity Board officials actively participated these dialogues. The main objective was to find out how the biodiversity concerns have been taken care with Forest Work Plan Code 2014, the Gap in it and how to overcome the gap towards achieving the National Biodiversity Targets thereby Aichi Targets. The learned participants contributed very meaningfully and brought out some recommendation for mainstreaming biodiversity into forestry and forest management. Dr. B. Meenakumari, Chairperson NBA, Mr. T. Rabikumar, Secretary, NBA and external Consultant Dr. Giridhar Kinhal, Former PCCF, with the support from CEBPOL Team facilitated the dialogues.

Refresher Course on “Indian Legal and Policy Framework on Biodiversity, Human Environment and Sustainable Development”

With the financial support from the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) the School of Legal Studies, Cochin University of Science and Technology organized an interdisciplinary Refresher Course and Training Programme on Indian Legal and Policy Framework on Biodiversity, Human Environment and Sustainable Development’ for university and college teachers from 16th to 30th May 2018 at Kochi. Dr. Prakash Nelliyet, Fellow – Access and Benefit Sharing, CEBPOL, participated as a resource person and conducted a session on ‘Economics of Biodiversity & Access and Benefit Sharing’ on 24th May 2018.

Inputs for SBSTTA–22 and SBI–2

on those. Country position on different themes were pre-pared and sent to the MoEFCC for its onward review and submission to CBD.

Shri. T. Rabikumar, Secretary, NBA participated the 22nd Meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 22) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at 2-7 July 2018 in Montreal, Canada and presented India’s country position on various agenda items including Digital sequence information on genetic resources, Protected areas and other measures for enhanced conservation and management.

The different documents related to Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-22) and the Second Meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation (SBI-2) were comprehensively revie-wed and comments were provided

An Indo-Norwegian Cooperation InitiativeAn Indo-Norwegian Cooperation Initiative

9 Biodiversity Matters Newsletter 9 Biodiversity Matters Newsletter 9 Biodiversity Matters Newsletter

Workshops on ABS for business

National Biodiversity Authority with the support of the project conducted workshop and dialogue with industries using biological resources to discuss the implementation of ABS provisions of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. These stakeholder dialogues were held in two locations in Chennai on 24-25 April and 26-27 April in New Delhi. Over 50 companies participated in these workshops. The workshop aimed to increase the exchange of dialogue between regulatory authorities and users on regulatory frameworks and best practices for Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) compliance as part of achieving the objectives of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and its ABS provisions. Technical sessions at the workshops were facilitated by Ms. Maria Julia Oliva, Senior Coordinator for Policy and Technical Support, Union for Ethical BioTrade, The Netherlands. The companies also had an opportunity to interact with authorities to clarify their queries on the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and ABS compliance. Participants requested follow-up sector-specific workshops where they could present sectoral challenges, like for example, nomenclature

of bacteriophage, bio-discovery projects and explore ways to maintain appropriate ABS compliance.

National Workshop for developing Communication Strategy to enhance awareness on Access and Benefit Sharing Capacity building and raising awareness on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) are one of the key components of the ABS Partnership Project. A national workshop for developing ABS communication strategy was held in Chennai on 2-3rd May 2018. The two-day workshop brought together participants from different sectors including the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), State Biodiversity Boards (SBB), legal professionals, domain knowledge experts, experts from Indian institutes specialised in development communication, media professionals, representatives of companies using biological resources from India and other ABS projects in India. The workshop was aimed to identify and design an effective communication strategy on

INDO-GERMAN ACCESS AND BENEFIT SHARING PARTNERSHIP PROJECT


stakeholders to speed up the effective implementation of ABS in India.

Implementation of ABS processes requires the participation of multi-stakeholders at various levels and interventions needed for raising awareness and capacity building depends on their role. In this workshop, ten stakeholder groups who have key roles in the ABS process were identified and the workshop participants carried out detailed analyses of

the current level of understanding of ABS among those stakeholder groups. This workshop was designed and moderated by Ms Kathrin Heidbrink, Communication Expert and Mr. Suhel al-Janabi, Co-Manager of ABS Capacity Development Initiative, GIZ, Germany. The outcome of this workshop will be used in developing targeted communication materials, message designs and communication channels to suit the capacity building requirement of stakeholders for effective implementation of ABS in India.

Updates from the Project StatesMaharashtra

The project has undertaken capacity building of selected Biodiversity Management Committees in the state with the help of local resource organisations. Two training of trainers workshops were held at Nagpur (9th May 2018) and Pune (30th May 2018). These training were stepping stone in providing key insight towards the establishment of collaboration between Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board (MSBB) and other relevant line departments of Maharashtra for implementation of Access & Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanism which leads to conservation and sustainable utilization of biological resources from the state of Maharashtra. Representatives from relevant line departments, as identified by the MSBB, underwent training on ABS with the objective of further disseminating their learnings and acquired knowledge to their respective department, relevant stakeholders and local communities, with whom they are involved in their regular course of work. Specific govt. departments participated in these training were Forest, Fisheries, Agriculture and Panchayati Raj & Rural Development.

Tamil NaduThe Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Board has designated District Forest Officers (DFOs) as nodal officers responsible for establishment and capacity building of Biodiversity

Management Committees in the state of Tamil Nadu. The project along with Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Board organised one-and-half day workshop for nodal officers on the concept and protocol in constituting and functioning of Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) on 20th & 21st April 2018 in Chennai. The training specifically focused on the provisions of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, case studies from other State Biodiversity Boards in India and mandates under Tamil Nadu Biological Diversity Rules, 2017 were elaborated. An interactive session on the operational aspects and functions of Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) enabled the participants to understand the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and its provisions in detail and the key role of Biological Diversity Management (BMCs) in managing their bio resources and ensure its conservation. The workshop was attended by 28 nodal officers.

State-wide awareness workshops in Tamil Nadu to create awareness on the ABSThe project has undertaken state-wide workshops for creating awareness on the Act and ABS provisions for line departments dealing with bio-resources such as agriculture, animal husbandry, forest, fisheries, horticulture and officers of district administration. Two workshops were held in Madurai (21st June) covering 5 districts namely, Dindigal, Madurai, Shivagangai, Theni and Krishnagiri (26th June) covering 4 districts namely, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Tiruvannamalai, Vellore. These workshops were well attended in both districts.


BIODIVERSITY FINANCE INITIATIVE (BIOFIN) UNDER THE GOI-UNDP

‘STRENGTHENING NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PROJECT’

BIOFIN Technical Partners’ MeetNational Biodiversity Authority at the behest of UNDP had organized a meeting of BIOFIN Technical Partners involving representatives from Wildlife Institute of India (WII), National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 12th April 2018 at NBA, Chennai. The agenda of the meeting was to discuss and finalize common biodiversity financial attribution methodology to be followed for various BIOFIN steps such as biodiversity expenditure review (BER) and biodiversity financial needs assessment (FNA) at both Central and State levels. The Meeting was chaired by Dr Rajagopalan IAS (retd.) & I/C, UNDP.

The meeting discussed to arrive at a consensus on attribution percentages to prepare the final BER and FNA figures for country to arrive at a meaningful finance gap for biodiversity conservation so that a comprehensive biodiversity finance plan (BFP) to address such a gap could be prepared as the final outcome of the project incorporating the results obtained through the three preceding BIOFIN steps such as PIR, BER and FNA. The meeting also discussed the design and development of Biodiversity Finance Plan which is the fourth and penultimate step that represents the culmination of all the work from the national BIOFIN processes which essentially comprises of three preceding BIOFIN assessments namely: Biodiversity Finance Programme (or Policy) and Institutional Review (PIR), Biodiversity Expenditure Review (BER) and Biodiversity Financial Needs Assessment (FNA).

Consultative Meeting towards the preparation of India’s Sixth National Report to CBD and on Progress Achieved on India’s National Biodiversity Targets

The National Biodiversity Authority had organized a consultative meeting of State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) on 11th April 2018 at the Conference Hall, NBA, Chennai towards preparation of India’s Sixth National Report (NR6) to CBD and on Progress Achieved on India’s National Biodiversity Targets for which SBBs are identified as responsible agencies. The purpose of the meeting was to solicit information from the SBBs for the inclusion of the same in the National Report 6. The meeting was chaired by Ms. Amarjeet Ahuja, Senior Adviser, NR6. The meeting discussed the submissions made by State Biodiversity Boards on various NBTs and suggested a way forward regarding additional information required.

17 SBBs such as Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal have furnished inputs towards preparation of NR6.



Glimpses From State Biodiversity BoardsMeghalayaA number of good initiatives have been taken by Meghalaya Biodiversity Board across the state for biodiversity conservation. It has been truly reflected by the initiative on protective work on migratory bird Amur Falcons against poachers by ‘Umru BMC’ of Ri- Bhoi District. This work has received a Special Mention Award in India Biodiversity Awards 2018 under the category ‘’Conservation of Wild Species’’.

The Board is also giving equal importance on communicating biodiversity concerns to the varied group of stakeholders. Three posters on Biodiversity viz., ‘Beetles of Khasi and Jaintia Hills’, Odonata of Ri Bhoi District and Pteridophyte of Khasi and Jaintia Hillls were released during IDB 2018.


The awardees of the state level photography competition organized by the Board on the theme ‘Wild Animals’

Consolation 1

Consolation 4

Consolation 2

Winner

Consolation 5

Consolation 3

Consolation 6



NBA invites articles, photographs with brief write-up on biodiversity and related aspects for publication.

Please wirte to: The Secretary, National Biodiversity Authority, 5th Floor TICEL Biopark, CSIR Road, Taramani Chennai-600 013 or to

[email protected]

COMPILED & PUBLISHED BY CEBPOL, NBA

Event Organized by Date

Training on ABS provision of BD Act for Patent Attorneys CEBPOL Sep 2018

Policy Dialogue on Mainstreaming Biodiversity concerns in Forestry and Forest Management

CEBPOL Sep 2018

Capacity Building on Biodiversity Governance for Panchayat Raj Institution (PRI) functionaries

NIRD Oct 2018

Training on Nagoya protocol for SBBs CEBPOL Oct 2018

Media Workshop on Biodiversity issue and BD Act for Environmental Reporters CEBPOL Oct 2018

Upcoming Events

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